How to: Affiliate Marketing
THIS PAGE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS PAGE< PLEASE COME BACK WHEN IT IS FINISHED< LAST UPDATED 2/10/2022
What is affiliate marketing?
There are three main types of affiliate marketing: unattached affiliate marketing, related affiliate marketing, and involved affiliate marketing.
-
- Unattached or Neutral Affiliate Marketing: This is an advertising model in which the affiliate has no connection to the product or service they are promoting. They may or may not have any known related skills or expertise towards the product or service they are marketing and they do not serve as an authority on, about or make any claims about its use. This is the most uninvolved form of affiliate marketing. The lack of attachment to the potential customer and product absolves the affiliate from the duty to recommend or advise, and they have no real commitment towards the product or service and if a problem should arise, these types of affiliate marketing individuals would not be the person to contact. They are simply a means to an end, they are just putting a product or service in front of a customer, much like a store employee that shows you a product in a store. Should you purchase that product and 2 weeks later it becomes defective, the employee is not the person you would try to return the product to. More over the types of products or services being offered would be the random type and have no real connection to the types of services or products the affiliate is attempting to advertise.
- Related Affiliate Marketing: As the name suggests, related affiliate marketing involves the promotion of products or services by an affiliate with some type of relationship to the offering. Generally, the connection is between the affiliate's niche and the product or service. The affiliate has enough influence and expertise to generate traffic, and their level of authority makes them a trusted source. The affiliate, however, makes no claims about the use of the product or service. To put this simply, should the affiliate have a website that specializes in car audio, and the affiliate he is using for example is ebay then the types of products the affiliate would be marketing would be car audio.
- Involved Affiliate Marketing: This type of marketing establishes a much deeper connection between the affiliate and the product or service they're promoting. They have used or use the product and are confident that their positive experiences can be shared by others. Their experiences are the advertisements, and they serve as trusted sources of information. On the other hand, because they're providing recommendations, their reputation may be compromised with any problems arising from the offering. The affiliate would want to be more careful and involved in the types of products or services they are offering so as not to tarnish their reputation and decrease traffic to their website.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing can yield great rewards for the advertising company and the affiliate marketer. The company benefits from low-cost advertising and the creative marketing efforts of its affiliates, and the affiliate benefits by earning additional income and incentives. The return on investment for affiliate marketing is high as the company only pays on traffic converted to sales. The cost of advertising, if any, is borne by the affiliate.
The advertising company sets the terms of an affiliate marketing program. Early on, companies largely paid the cost per click (traffic) or cost per mile (impressions) on banner advertisements. As technology evolved, the focus turned to commissions on actual sales or qualified leads. The early affiliate marketing programs were vulnerable to fraud because clicks could be generated by software, as could impressions.
Now, most affiliate programs have strict terms and conditions on how to generate leads. There are also certain banned methods, such as installing adware or spyware that redirect all search queries for a product to an affiliate's page. Some affiliate marketing programs go as far as to lay out how a product or service is to be discussed in the content before an affiliate link can be validated.
So an effective affiliate marketing program requires some forethought. The terms and conditions must be clearly spelled out, especially if the contract agreement pays for traffic rather than sales. The potential for fraud in affiliate marketing is possible.
Unscrupulous affiliates can squat on domain names with misspellings and get a commission for the redirect. They can populate online registration forms with fake or stolen information, and they can purchase AdWords on search terms the company already ranks high on, and so on. Even if the terms and conditions are clear, an affiliate marketing program requires that someone monitor affiliates and enforce rules.
In exchange, however, a company can access motivated, creative people, to help sell their products or services to the world.
-
Access to a broader market
-
Better accounting of qualified leads
Minimal low cost advertising
-
Less creative control
-
Vulnerable to theft
- Subject to fraud and persecution
Examples of Affiliate Marketing
Amazon Affiliate Marketing
Amazon's affiliate marketing program, Amazon Associates, is one of the world's largest affiliate marketing programs. Creators, publishers, and bloggers sign up to have Amazon products and services shared on their websites or apps, and in return, receive compensation for the sales their sites generate.
Amazon sets strict criteria for the types of sites and apps that host their ads. For example, sites must not contain replicated content from another site or creator and be available to the public. Websites must be active with fresh content and suitable according to Amazon's standards. For example, they must not contain obscene or offensive content, promote violence or illegal acts, or contain any content deemed harmful to others.
Approval is contingent on a thorough review by Amazon staff and meeting a qualified sales quota (within 180 days of the application). If an application is rejected, it will not be eligible for reconsideration. Once approved, commissions are earned as site visitors purchase products or services from Amazon.
Amazon Associates can earn up to 10% in commissions for qualified sales. Rates are fixed and based on product and program categories. As a bonus, Amazon offers special commissions on certain events.
More than 65% of traffic is generated by individuals who make blogs.
Etsy Affiliate Marketing
Etsy (ETSY) — a global, online marketplace for vintage goods and other unique items—promotes its products through various channels, including affiliate marketing partners. To apply, applicants must submit an online application through its affiliate program portal. To qualify as an Etsy affiliate marketing partner, eligible candidates must be at least 18, have an active, unique website, have a brand identity, and meet other criteria.4
If approved, Etsy pays a commission to the affiliate for sales they procure—sales resulting from their site's promotion of the product. Commission rates vary and are paid on the order price. Etsy sellers can be affiliates, but they cannot earn commissions on their products without special permission. Etsy declares that it has the right to terminate an agreement at any time for any reason and that it can withhold compensation for any legitimate reason.
eBay Affiliate Marketing
eBay's Partner Network is eBay's affiliate marketing program that pays partners for sharing their personal listings outside of eBay Inc. (EBAY). The affiliate earns a commission and may earn credit towards their final merchant fees.5 eBay partners can also earn commissions on other seller's items.
Commissions are earned when a buyer bids on or immediately purchases an item within 24 hours of clicking the eBay purchase link on the affiliate's site. For submitted bids, the commission is paid if the buyer wins the auction within 10 days of the bid.
Commission rates depend on the category of items sold and range from 1%-4%. No more than $550 will be paid on any one qualifying sale. Gift cards, items sold by charities, and special promotions are generally excluded as qualifying sales because of their low revenue streams.
There are tons of different programs one could join for its affiliate marketing program, it doesn't just have to be the major companies that you go for. Almost every business online has such a program and each one has its own characteristics and pros and cons, as well as their own set of rules on who they will join partners with on its marketing campaign.
Another good affiliate marketing program to join is Google Adsense. It is one of the easiest ones to join, but it does have rules you must adhere to as well as guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Affiliate Marketing Mean?
Affiliate marketing is an advertising model in which a company pays others (e.g., bloggers) to advertise their products and services and generate sales. Affiliates place ads or market the products or services on their website, app, or blog. Commissions are paid on leads that convert to sales.
How Do I Become an Affiliate Marketer?
To become an affiliate marketer, consider what platform you will use to promote products and/or services. Blogs are an effective channel for advertising and promoting as it allows the blogger, serving as an expert, to express an opinion about the offering.
After identifying a platform, find a specific category that you are comfortable with or interested in. A focused segment can better help you attract a dedicated consumer base. Research affiliate programs and choose one or more based on your needs, whether it be earning high commissions or generating more traffic. Lastly, develop solid and interesting content around the offerings and work to increase traffic to your site.
What Is an Example of Affiliate Marketing?
Buzzfeed is a New York-based digital media company known for viral news and entertainment stories, quizzes, and product reviews. Its Buzzfeed Shopping segment features and reviews different partners' products and services. Visitors can read Buzzfeed's product reviews and select affiliate links to purchase. Buzzfeed earns a commission from each sale generated from their website.
How Much Money Can You Make as an Affiliate Marketer?
Incomes for affiliate marketers vary, with some making a few hundred dollars and some making six figures. It depends on what is being marketed, how much influence the marketer has, the affiliate's reach, and how much time is invested in marketing products. Often, those spending more time marketing the company's products will earn more money.
Are you looking for a list of high paying affiliate programs to earn a very nice commission every month?
Most of the successful and profitable blog sites generate the majority of their income thru affiliate marketing.
It is by far the #1 way to earn passive income every month.
So if you’re looking for high paying affiliate programs to make money from your blog or website then be sure to read this entire post.
Lets check out some of the highest paying affiliate products you can promote in 2022, so that you too can earn a nice passive income from nothing.
Create Your Own Website With Webador